2007

7 in 10 Americans Will Watch Super Bowl

Almost seven in 10 American adults (69%) say they will be watching the Super Bowl this Sunday, according to a new Harris Poll. That breaks down to 75% of men and 63% of women.

Most Don’t Know Where They’ll Watch

Although the Super Bowl is only a few days away, almost four in 10 US adults (38%) say they know they will watch, but are just not sure of what their plans are yet. Equal numbers say they will be hosting family and friends at their house (14%) and going to someone’s house (14%) for the game while 4% will watch at a bar or restaurant.

6 in 10 Viewers Look Forward to Ads

Super Bowl advertisements get as much or more hype than the game itself, so it’s not too surprising that about six in 10 (59%) US adults planning to watch the Super Bowl say they look forward to the ads. Another 30% don’t look forward to the ads, but enjoy watching them.
Only 8% of Super Bowl viewers pay no special attention to the ads, and a mere 3% wish there was no advertising during the telecast.

Halftime Show Less Popular Than Ads

The Super Bowl halftime show also receives a great deal of publicity, but only 33% of viewers look forward to watching it. A higher percentage of women (37%) than men (29%) look forward to the halftime show.

A total of 27% of viewers don’t look forward to the halftime show but enjoy watching it. Again, this response skews female (35%) rather than male (29%).

Twenty-nine percent of viewers pay no special attention to the halftime show and 10% think it is a distraction they could do without. These two responses skew male (35% and 13%, compared to 23% and 7%, respectively).

More Viewers Pull for Packers

The Packers and Steelers are both historic NFL franchises with multiple Super Bowl wins through the years. Yet 38% of viewers say they will root for the Packers, compared to 28% supporting the Steelers. Another 34% will root for neither team but just enjoy watching the game.

Super Bowl Spending Looks Solid

The average US consumer is expected to spend $59.33 on game-related Super Bowl merchandise, apparel and snacks in 2011, up almost 13% from $52.63 last year, according to a recent survey by the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association, conducted by BIGresearch. Total Super Bowl spending is expected to reach $10.1 billion.

About the Data: This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between January 25 to 27, 2011 among 2,516 adults (aged 18 and over) of whom 1,682 plan to watch the Super Bowl. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.